{"id":5723,"date":"2015-08-03T16:15:25","date_gmt":"2015-08-03T16:15:25","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2015-08-03T16:15:25","modified_gmt":"2015-08-03T16:15:25","slug":"will_trump_blow_up_the_debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2015\/08\/03\/will_trump_blow_up_the_debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Trump Blow Up the Debate?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Listen<\/a><\/p>\n

RUSH: Big Republican presidential debate coming up. I guess it\u2019s Thursday, August the 6th. We have 16 candidates, but only room for 10 people, and polling data is being used to determine the 10 people. However — and this would be somewhat predictable — since polling data is being used, and since you and I all know that polling data can be used to shape public opinion rather than reflect it, and it\u2019s a rolling average… It\u2019s an average after a number of polls; it\u2019s not just one poll. The Fox News poll counts.<\/p>\n

But there are some other polls that get rolled into this, and they all get averaged out. And, as has happened, NBC\u2019s got a poll… By the way, Marist… I should point this out first that Marist said, “We\u2019re not gonna play in this. We\u2019re not gonna participate in this. <\/line>We don\u2019t want to have anything to do with who ends up on that stage and he doesn\u2019t.” Now, Marist occasionally polls with NBC, sometimes with others. But they\u2019re saying, “We\u2019re not… We\u2019re not engaged in this.<\/line><\/p>\n

“We\u2019re not gonna submit our polls to the conglomeration of polls with the rolling average because we don\u2019t want to make public opinion; we want to reflect it.” Hardy-har-har! Chuckle-chuckle. It\u2019s actually a pretty good PR move on their part to say so. But, for example, what do you do, as has happened… Let\u2019s say NBC wants certain people not on that stage, and let\u2019s say that NBC is participating in the conglomeration of polls from which a rolling average will determine the top 10. <\/p>\n

Okay, let\u2019s say that NBC goes out and does (which they\u2019ve done, I think) a poll of 300 people with a margin of error +\/- six and let\u2019s say (just to pick a name), they don\u2019t want Rick Perry on the stage. Do you think they could present a poll that shows Perry barely registering in the sample of 300 people? Or take anybody else. The top tier, they couldn\u2019t do much about. They\u2019re not gonna be able to keep Trump or Jeb, Walker, these people out. But they can keep Carly Fiorina out if they try.<\/p>\n

They could keep Rick Perry out. They could probably keep Huckabee out if they wanted to. This is the problem with this. And people have been asking about it. I played golf yesterday, and boy did I have fun. I just hit some incredible shots yesterday. I\u2019m really feeling jazzed about it because it was just a month ago I thought I had lost my game. I even told you people I\u2019d lost it. And I had. I couldn\u2019t hit anything. Strange game. <\/p>\n

But I was on the golf course yesterday and some people were asking me about Trump. Trump is really coming up in popularity among the crowd I play golf with. These are establishment Republicans, actually. These are the people that run around and complain to me about abortion and social issues. You know, “Why don\u2019t the Republicans just stop talking about the social issues?” I get that all the time. These people are all excited about Trump. <\/p>\n

The big fear was, “Do you think Donald would actually go independent?” meaning third party. I said, “I don\u2019t know. We\u2019ll just have to sit back here and watch this. I have no idea what is gonna happen, where this is all headed.” “How do you think Donald is gonna do in the debate?” I said, “Now, there I have an opinion. Trump has set this up pretty well in terms of his performance on the debate.” What\u2019s he out there saying? He said (paraphrased), “I don\u2019t debate. You know, I\u2019m a guy that gets things done. <\/p>\n

“I tell everybody what to do and they go do it. I make decisions and we make things happen. I don\u2019t sit around and debate all day. That\u2019s all these guys do. That\u2019s all these guys do is debate. I\u2019m not good at it. I don\u2019t debate. There isn\u2019t anybody else\u2019s opinion that matters than mine.” So he\u2019s set up expectations that maybe he\u2019s not gonna do well in this kind of format because this kind of format requires deference to the others. This kind of format…<\/p>\n

Actually a better word is “formula.” This kind of formula requires deference, it requires politeness, it requires manners, it requires adhering to the rules about how much time everybody gets. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised — and of course, I have no firsthand knowledge because I don\u2019t talk to these people about this stuff. I\u2019m not and never have been somebody wants to be wired in. I\u2019m an observer. Some people have criticized me for this. <\/p>\n

“You realize how close you could get some of these people? Do you realize they\u2019d take your phone calls?” Yeah. I have no interest. I just never have been interested in cultivating insider-type relationships with these people. I know why. I\u2019ve just always viewed myself as an outside observer. And there are many fewer problems that way, by the way. And then the closer you get to these people, the more you end up liking them or disliking them, whichever is the case.<\/p>\n

And when you end up liking them, it becomes even harder to criticize them. When they get elected to high office, it\u2019s not as easy to keep your distance. When the president calls, you go, for example. When the vice president calls, you go. But a candidate calls and you can take the option not even taking the call, which I do frequently. I know that I\u2019m weird this way compared to others, so-called, in the media. <\/p>\n

But I just like to have my distance, and stay as close to objective observation as I can get. So I don\u2019t know anything here. I\u2019ve talked to nobody at Fox. I don\u2019t know the first thing about this debate other than when it is. Beyond that, I don\u2019t know how long it\u2019s scheduled to go. I don\u2019t know anything about the format. I\u2019m just gonna wait for it and watch it. But I do have some theories. And if you look at Trump and the way he\u2019s doing what he\u2019s doing and why he\u2019s doing what he\u2019s doing, I wouldn\u2019t be a bit surprised if Donald Trump\u2019s objective is to blow up this whole format.<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s predictable. It\u2019s stale. I mean, 10 people on a stage and everybody gets — I don\u2019t know what it is — three minutes, and then 30 seconds to reply, and then if somebody attacks you, you get 15.5 seconds to defend yourself or whatever it is. I think at some point, Trump\u2019s gonna say how stupid he thinks this is and how unproductive he thinks this is and how basically what a waste of time. He won\u2019t say that because he\u2019s there.<\/line><\/p>\n

But he\u2019ll talk about how it\u2019s not productive toward choosing a candidate, that it just muddies the waters, and it doesn\u2019t give anybody enough time to do anything, and there\u2019s no way that all 10 people can personally interact with each other. Then you\u2019ve got the moderators trying to intersect and interject and keep control of the thing and trying to make names for themselves, too, even though they deny that. <\/p>\n

Whoever the moderators are, they\u2019re gonna be trying to get good publicity when it\u2019s over by credit for asking the right questions or policing the thing well, and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Trump — I don\u2019t know at the outset, but at some point. Maybe after he thinks he\u2019s scored a big point, I don\u2019t think he would do this if he thinks he\u2019s not doing well. I think would only do something like this from a position of perceived strength.<\/p>\n

He would basically start lambasting the whole format and say, “You know what? This is what is wrong with choosing a president. What does this got to do with anything? We\u2019re all up here, and everybody knows that nine out of 10 of these people, eight out of these, are not going anywhere. What are we doing here? This is crazy. All we\u2019re gonna do for two or three hours here is tell everybody how rotten each other is? It\u2019s crazy. It\u2019s not gonna matter a hill of beans at the end of the campaign. What are we wasting our time for? Making TV ratings for…?”<\/p>\n

Something like this. I mean, that would be in character. And how many people do you think would stand up and go, “Right on!” I know this debate coming up Thursday is probably gonna be a record setter, ratings-wise, for a whole host of reasons All of them predictable, understandable. But at the same time, what people in the Republican Party know is, when these debates are all said and done, what happens? A Northeastern liberal moderate establishment candidate gets the nomination. <\/p>\n

And if not a Northeastern liberal, then an Arizona moderate or liberal. But an establishment candidate gets it, and the conservative candidates all seem to winnow themselves out. And I just… I don\u2019t see Trump — as front and center as he is, as dominating as he is — willingly permitting himself to be seen as an equal among 10 by shutting up when he\u2019s supposed to shut up, by not speaking when he\u2019s not supposed to speak. I just don\u2019t. Wild guess. And I\u2019m not saying any of it\u2019s gonna be disrespectful. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m saying it\u2019s gonna be like everything else he\u2019s doing in the campaign. It\u2019s gonna be fresh; it\u2019s gonna be new. It\u2019s gonna be, to use the cliche, “a breath of fresh air,” and people are gonna be applauding it. Except the Drive-Bys and the establishment media, who, when it\u2019s over, are gonna wring their hands and worry about what does this mean for our politics. Because some are gonna accuse it of incivility, of breaking down or what have you. If my prediction\u2019s right here. Because the formula\u2019s everything to the Drive-Bys is everything.<\/line><\/p>\n

The formula\u2019s everything to the establishment, because they control it. And that\u2019s one thing Trump is not: Controllable. Particularly when it comes to the establishment. So there could be fireworks. Trump, by the way, is out there saying, “Hey, you know what? I don\u2019t debate. I make decisions. I\u2019m a guy that gets things done. I don\u2019t sit around and talk all day. That\u2019s what these guys do.” Okay, so on the one hand he set himself up lowering expectations to not do well. But I don\u2019t… I don\u2019t think that\u2019s really in the cards, not doing well. <\/p>\n

Of course, we could see. You know, Trump may be one of these people — we\u2019ll just have to find out — ho when he\u2019s the only one on stage, he owns it, and is totally confident, and all the things that go with that. If he\u2019s on stage with 10 people and has to share it, who knows? Is he still as dominant? Is he? Does he own the stage like he does when he is singular focus stage? All of this remains to be seen. But I just don\u2019t see this thing on Thursday night being standard, ordinary, predictable candidate debate that we have all become accustomed to.<\/p>\n

Which is basically a moderated, long-form Sunday show, and the guests — instead of newsmakers during the week — are candidates, and they get questions. I mean, let\u2019s face it: The moderators run the debate. The moderators determine what\u2019s discussed, unless a candidate or two decides to reach out and take control of the whole thing him- or herself, which say, “Hello,” to Trump. That\u2019s what he does. So we will just have to see. So that\u2019s what I told people that asked me yesterday what I expect in the debate.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m wrong, and if this comes off as your normal, everyday, standard, run of the medical candidate debate — perfectly formatted, perfectly formulaic, with hardly any fireworks to it — it\u2019s gonna be considered a yawner and a ho-hummer. And when it\u2019s all over, the establishment media is gonna claim that their establishment candidates did the best. That\u2019s another thing Trump has to consider, too, as a lone wolf candidate, as a guy who\u2019s busting out of formulas and is not being contained by them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s almost incumbent upon him to step out and somehow control not what happens. Not only what happens during the debate, but the message afterwards, \u2019cause the Drive-By Media analysis of what happened will be, I don\u2019t know, as or pretty close to what happened during, \u2019cause be not everybody\u2019s gonna see it, the everybody\u2019s gonna watch it, and so the way it\u2019s reported afterwards.<\/p>\n

And the last thing Trump wants is for the post-debate analysis to be is, “Donald Trump was also on stage and was heard from. He said X, Y, and Z.” The last thing Trump wants is he was just one of the gang, just one of the 10. So it\u2019s bound to be fireworks of some kind. It has to be. The real question for me is: Are the other nine ready for what may be headed their way? We\u2019ll find out. It\u2019s only a few short days away. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: I have some phone calls here that I actually don\u2019t understand. I got two people who think, A, I\u2019m missing the point on Trump, and another thinks I\u2019m wrong on something. I\u2019m totally befuddled here. So I\u2019m gonna find out. Marshall, North Carolina, Linda. It says here that you disagree with me about that Trump\u2019s gonna do great Thursday. What did…? What do you think I said?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hi, Rush. How are you?<\/p>\n

RUSH: I\u2019m fine. I\u2019m fine. I was fine until I read what you were gonna say.<\/p>\n

CALLER: (laughing) I think that Donald, the Donald, has made a tremendous impact. And I\u2019m so happy he\u2019s in this, just to open people\u2019s eyes and have them listen. I think he\u2019s gonna do great in the debates. I really do. I think he\u2019s gonna do really great! I think he\u2019s gonna answer questions. I think he\u2019s gonna be ready for them.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Now, wait.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I think he\u2019s going to be off the cuff. Go ahead.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Wait a minute. You think that I said that I don\u2019t think he\u2019s gonna do well?<\/p>\n

CALLER: No, no, no. I think you said… Didn\u2019t you say something like, “If he thinks he needs a point, he\u2019s gonna blow the place up”? Did you say something like that?<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, all I was talking about is I think Trump\u2019s gonna be Trump. And if he is, we\u2019re not gonna recognize this debate. That\u2019s not a criticism!<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n

RUSH: I was not criticizing Trump. Boy, this is I\u2019ll tell you what, folks, this is shaping up like Perot 2. <\/line><\/p>\n

CALLER: (laughing)<\/p>\n

RUSH: You say one thing about this guy and here come his defenders left and right! You know, I admire you, Linda. I really do.<\/p>\n

CALLER: You know what? Because you want a man. As a woman, I want a man who\u2019s going to speak his mind, not a politician who\u2019s worried about what he says right or wrong. I don\u2019t care if he says something wrong. Just say it, say what you mean.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Look —<\/p>\n

CALLER: I don\u2019t care if he\u2019s a Democrat or Republican.<\/p>\n

RUSH: That\u2019s cool. I gotcha. You and Mark Cuban. You know what Mark Cuban said? Mark Cuban said (summarized), “I don\u2019t care what he thinks, I don\u2019t care what he believes, I just admire a guy willing to tell us what he thinks.”<\/p>\n

CALLER: It\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You don\u2019t care what he thinks?<\/p>\n

CALLER: And I think that it\u2019s gotten more people to listen, to open their eyes a little bit and hear what\u2019s really going on. People that don\u2019t even know what\u2019s going on, they\u2019ve heard him say something and it\u2019s, “Wow. Is this the truth?”<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Said, “Yeah.”<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay. Next question.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yes.<\/p>\n

RUSH: I\u2019m serious. There\u2019s no wrong answer here. Do not interpreter, misinterpret any tone in my voice. I\u2019m genuinely cure.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Okay.<\/p>\n

RUSH: What did I say in my expert analysis and prediction that made you mad or that made you think you don\u2019t got or that made you think I\u2019m wrong?<\/p>\n

CALLER: (laughing)<\/p>\n

RUSH: What did I say, seriously? What did I say that made you pick up the phone and call?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, I\u2019ve been trying to call you for weeks. But, anyway, you said something like, Trump is gonna be, you know, quiet, he\u2019s gonna go along with everything, and then if he feels like he\u2019s on point with something, he\u2019s gonna just blow the place up and say, “What are we doing this for? What are we having these debates for? This is not how you pick a president,” and granted, it\u2019s not, and it really isn\u2019t, just see a politician speak —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Wait a minute. Saying that made you mad?<\/line><\/p>\n

CALLER: No, it didn\u2019t make me mad. It just gave me another reason to call you. I\u2019ve been dying to talk to you.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay.<\/p>\n

CALLER: On so many points.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Fine. Let me just reiterate. None of what I said was intended to be criticism of Trump. It was intended to be predictive. I was simply… I\u2019m telling you what I think is gonna happen. I do not see Trump sitting there, standing there passively waiting his turn, following a formula that is boring and dull and stilted, by virtue of the fact that Trump, when he\u2019s on the stage, it\u2019s his. He owns it. This is not a criticism. It\u2019s an analysis. And I just…<\/p>\n

I think he thinks there\u2019s a lot wrong with the country, and I think he thinks part of what\u2019s wrong is the way we elect candidates, the way we elect presidents. He\u2019s already said he\u2019s not excited about this, and I know there\u2019s psychology here at play. He\u2019s out there saying, “You know what? I\u2019m a doer. I don\u2019t debate. I don\u2019t sit around and talk about things. I tell people what to do and they go do it, and if they don\u2019t do it, I fire \u2019em! I don\u2019t sit around and debate.<\/p>\n

“These other guys, that\u2019s all they do! They sit around and talk all the time. I\u2019m not a talker; I\u2019m a doer.” Well, to me (chuckles), that tells me he\u2019s not gonna sit around and just stand around talk all night like all these other guys do. He\u2019s got to continue to stand out the way he has up to now. And he\u2019s not gonna be able to do that by following the format. Nothing wrong with that! Not being critical of that. I\u2019m just trying to give you a heads-up, my take on what\u2019s coming, and it could be all wrong. He could be a model citizen up there: Polite, deferential, and speak no more than any of the other candidates. But if that happens, you\u2019re gonna be scratching your head and saying, “What happened?” That\u2019s my guess.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Jim in Clermont, Florida. Hi, Jim. You\u2019re next. Hello, sir.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Hello. My point is, first off, I agree with what you said. But I think that you missed one of the points, and that is Trump has a huge advantage going into this if he takes it, which is that he can fall back on the fact that: You folks created the mess. You folks were the ones that were elected to fix things, and I\u2019ve never had that position. You know, Mr. Bush, are you gonna tell me that Florida is fixed while you were governor? Mr. Perry, are you gonna tell me that Texas is fixed while you were governor? That\u2019s why people upset. That\u2019s why people don\u2019t want you people anymore.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Okay. You\u2019re saying in different words the same thing I\u2019m saying. He\u2019s going to go up there, he\u2019s not going to play ball. He\u2019s not one of these guys, and he\u2019s not gonna act like it. He\u2019s gonna do something or a series of things to stand out. The standard, ordinary, everyday format of these things — which is dull and boring and predictable and dominated by moderators — I think is gonna be blown to smithereens. And since he is running against the establishment and everybody in politics…<\/p>\n

I mean, he\u2019s already called a series of these guys losers or dumb or dumb or silly. He\u2019s already said, “Yeah, these guys all came to my office begging for my money! They all came to my office begging for my support.” So, yeah, that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m talking about. I just… I don\u2019t see Donald Trump becoming one of these guys. This is gonna be a debate unlike we\u2019ve seen before. It\u2019s not a criticism. Now, you know what the standard, ordinary procedure for something like this? Given your theory — and you\u2019re right — that he has a huge advantage in that he shows up with a huge lead. <\/p>\n

You know how the establishment would deal with that. You know, the theory in current politics is? (And it happens to be, by the way, practiced a lot in the National Football League.) It\u2019s called, “Don\u2019t take any risks.” If you\u2019re sitting on a big lead, the theory is, “All you can do is blow it. So don\u2019t blow it.” It\u2019s called the prevent defense. The standard, ordinary, standard operating procedure if you show up one of these things big lead is, “Don\u2019t blow it. Don\u2019t say anything that could cause you to lose your lead, be damaged or whatever.”<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what we\u2019re not gonna see. We\u2019re not gonna see Trump sitting on his lead and playing defense and hoping not to make somebody mad or hoping not to step in it or not to whatever. But that\u2019s the way normal people play it. If you\u2019re showing a big lead, just sit on it; make sure you leave with the big lead. Seldom is the attitude when you show up with a big lead, “Let\u2019s make it even bigger,” and that\u2019s who Trump is. I have no doubt that he\u2019s gonna take this occasion to do what he can to eliminate as many of these guys in one debate as he can. But he\u2019s not gonna be able to do that following the format. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not being critical when I say that. <\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Let me grab one more of these, get \u2019em in the can here. This is Daniel in Coronado, California, beautiful place. Welcome, sir. Great to have you on the EIB Network. Hi.<\/line><\/p>\n

CALLER: Hey, Rush. Thanks on for having me.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You bet.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Longtime listener. Quick question. My comment on Trump is I want to believe that he supports these conservative ideas and kind of putting out there, but I am not totally sold yet. I\u2019m hoping he\u2019ll blow things up in a way that somebody like a Scott Walker, a Ted Cruz, Rubio… Kind of encourage them to break out of this boring political mode and really go on the attack. Go after Obama, Clinton, Biden. Because I think he\u2019s gonna jump in and throw a wrench at Clinton and really kind of pull a true conservative out and use it in a way, instead of burying conservatives, for the conservatives to bury the Republicans — the establishment — hopefully. So I\u2019m kind of… I\u2019m really excited to watch. I usually don\u2019t put a lot of stock in debates \u2019cause they\u2019re so blah.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yep.<\/p>\n

CALLER: But I\u2019m really hoping this will have some fireworks and some conservatives, a Walker or Cruz or somebody can really come out swinging.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You think Ted Cruz needs to come out of his shell a little?<\/p>\n

CALLER: I don\u2019t. I just don\u2019t think that he gets the press that Trump does, and I\u2019m hoping together… I mean, when Cruz… I\u2019ve never donated to any political campaign. When Cruz came out and called McConnell a liar, the first thing I did was I walked to his website and I donated… I could only give him a little bit, but that\u2019s what I want. He\u2019s one of my favorites. But I\u2019m just energized.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Let me just tell you: You bring up Cruz, the evil Koch brothers. I say that humorously. They\u2019re not evil. They\u2019re nice people. They have one of their annual get-togethers I think out in California over the weekend and some of the prospective Republican candidates were there, and I\u2019m told that Ted Cruz owned it, that he had the most charismatic appearance on stage, most dominant, comfortable in his own skin. He just owned it, was confident and apparently just blew up this whole idea man-made global warming.<\/p>\n

You know, folks, this is terrible. Obama is fulfilling a promise that we highlighted on audiotape before he got elected, his intention of putting the coal business out of business, the coal industry out of business. He is doing it. He\u2019s literally doing it, all under the guise that we\u2019ve gotta do something about climate change. And Cruz exposed it. He exposed it from top to bottom. He told everybody in attendance exactly what the game is. It starts out in the seventies with coming ice age, and that wasn\u2019t gonna work out.<\/p>\n

Then they turned it into global warming, and then it stopped getting warmer. So now they\u2019ve turned it to “climate change.” And that\u2019s brilliant, because whenever anything\u2019s odd, they can chalk it up to “climate change.” Get a lot of rain? Climate change! Gets cold? You call it climate change! When it gets really hot, you call it climate change! A tornado? Call it climate change! Anything above and beyond a normal sunny day is now climate change, when it\u2019s common. <\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t anything that happens in weather that is unique anymore. Everything has already happened countless times. But these people get a chance to expose it as “climate change,” and young people are eating it up. I mean, they\u2019re buying it, swallowing it hook, line, and sinker. And Obama is now head-first into putting the coal business out of business, exactly as he promised to do it. So this is really serious stuff. I don\u2019t know if you heard this or not. And I found out about this, of all places, while reading my tech blogs. <\/p>\n

Apparently they lit up the Empire State Building in New York City recently with pictures of animals that are dying out, species that are ending. You ought to see these young people and these blogs eating every syllable of it up. Because a dentist went and hunted a lion, we are now facing the end of all lions. And because a hunter went and hunted a giraffe, we\u2019re now facing the end of all giraffes. It is amazing the way young people are being lured in and sucked into all this stuff, something that I\u2019ve been chronicling here for I don\u2019t know how long, particularly as it is on global warming.<\/line><\/p>\n

But, look, stay on point here. Ted Cruz nails this stuff every time he speaks about it. As I say, owned the stage out there at the Koch brothers event. So you get this presidential campaign, and I think you have a good point here, Jim. I think that if Trump does do what Trump does, you\u2019re gonna see two or possibly three of these people break out of their shell. And by “shell” I mean the straitjacket boundaries their consultants have them behaving in. Yeah, it could be unique in a whole bunch of different ways on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: Well, I don\u2019t want to deflate your bubble out there, but I just briefly saw a quote from Trump saying, “Yeah, I really don\u2019t think I\u2019m gonna be throwing any punches on Thursday night.” “I mean, don\u2019t look for anything unusual from me,” Trump said. Right. Okay. Back in a minute.<\/p>\n

BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: I got these Trump calls out of the way. I was shocked. I was literally shocked. Here I gave 20 minutes of brilliant, great, compassionate, on-the-money analysis of Trump and the debate Thursday, and here come a bunch of people (crying), “You criticized Trump !You criticized Trump! Trump\u2019s gonna do well! What did you say?” I\u2019m left thinking, “What did I say?” You all were hearing me in there. Did I criticize Trump in any of that? I mean, maybe it wasn\u2019t a compliment, but I kind of meant it that way. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m all for these formats being blown to smithereens. I think all of this becomes too controlled, and I think it all becomes… The way these debates happen… There have been enough of them now. We\u2019ve seen them our whole lives. We know what happens. These are establishment-run affairs, and they are designed to end up with an establishment candidate, and anything that blows that up is fine and dandy with me. <\/p>\n

So we\u2019ll just have to see. As I said right before the end of the previous hour, Trump is out there… I don\u2019t know who asked him, but he\u2019s being quoted as saying, “I don\u2019t think I\u2019m gonna throw any punches on Thursday,” whatever that means. But time will tell. I think it\u2019s a pretty safe bet that this debate is not gonna be like others that we have seen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: Big Republican presidential debate coming up. I guess it\u2019s Thursday, August the 6th. We have 16 candidates, but only room for 10 people, and polling data is being used to determine the 10 people. However — and this would be somewhat predictable — since polling data is being used, and since you and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWill Trump Blow Up the Debate? - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2015\/08\/03\/will_trump_blow_up_the_debate\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Will Trump Blow Up the Debate? - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: Big Republican presidential debate coming up. 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